Harvey Korman, co-star of "The Carol Burnett Show" for which he won four Emmys, died Thursday. He was 81.
Korman died at UCLA Medical Center after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm four months ago, his family said in a statement released by the hospital.
His daughter, Kate Korman, said in the statement that it was a "miracle" that her father had survived the aneurysm at all, and that he had several major operations.
"Tragically, after such a hard fought battle he passed away," she said.
Korman first appeared on "The Danny Kaye Show," in 1964 and later became a cast member of "The
Carol Burnett Show."
Burnett was devastated by the news, said her assistant, Angie Horejsi.
"She loved Harvey very much," Horejsi said. She said Burnett had not yet made a statement.
His most memorable film role was as the outlandish Hedley Lamarr in
Mel Brooks' 1974 Western satire, "Blazing Saddles." He also appeared in the Brooks comedies "High Anxiety," "The History of the World Part I" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," as well as two "Pink Panther" moves, "Trail of the Pink Panther" in 1982 and "Curse of the Pink Panther" in 1983. Korman's other films included "
Gypsy," "Huckleberry Finn" (as the King), "Herbie Goes Bananas" and "Bud and Lou" (as legendary straightman Bud Abbott to Buddy Hackett's Lou Costello). He also provided the voice of Dictabird in the 1994 live-action feature "The Flintstones."
In television, Korman guest-starred in dozens of series including "The Donna Reed Show," "Dr. Kildare," "Perry Mason," "The Wild Wild West," "The Muppet Show," "The Love Boat," "The Roseanne Show" and "Burke's Law."
In their '70s, he and Tim Conway, one of his Burnett show co-stars, toured the country with their show "Tim Conway and Harvey Korman: Together Again." They did 120 shows a year, sometimes as many as six or eight in a weekend.
Harvey Herschel Korman was born Feb. 15, 1927, in Chicago. He left college for service in the U.S. Navy, resuming his studies afterward at the Goodman School of Drama at the Chicago Art Institute. After four years, he decided to try New York.
In 1960 Korman married Donna Elhart and they had two children, Maria and Christopher. They divorced in 1977. Two more children, Katherine and Laura, were born of his 1982 marriage to Deborah Fritz.
In addition to his daughter Kate, he is survived by his wife and the three other children.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
